ARCADIA — The town is hoping to bring Internet access to businesses in the town of Arcadia through a fiber optic network.

Paul Griswold from Finger Lakes Technologies, Inc. part of Ontario and Trumansburg Telephone Co. in Phelps, presented plans to extend the company’s fiber network into Arcadia. The local company has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last few years, with fiber networks all over upstate New York and in 20 different cities, Griswold said. In business for 100 years and with a workforce of 105 employees, the company is proud to have made that growth on its own, Griswold said, without stimulus monies or government help.

Griswold is hoping to garner enough interest from businesses to make the project happen. Finger Lakes Technologies already does business with several local organizations and non-profits, and it currently provides Internet service for Wayne County offices. The company has developed a list of 450 potential customers in the Newark area it would like to sign up for services.

The project is a costly one. Griswold said about 4.5 miles of fiber needs to be added to the network to accommodate businesses throughout the town. At $25,000 to $30,000 per mile of fiber, the total project cost is estimated at $135,000. Griswold said the company needs to earn $7,500 monthly to make the project viable.

Griswold said what makes the company's fiber network unique is that all businesses that sign up for service are connected in their network loop.

“When you connect, you’re connected to the whole area we reach,” he said. “Right now we are trying to gauge interest.”

If there is enough interest, Finger Lakes Technologies representatives said, the project will move forward, but it can only offer the fiber optic network to commercial customers at this time. Griswold said once the fiber is built in the area, Finger Lakes Technologies works with another company that could branch off the fiber network to offer wireless service to residential customers. The Town Board will keep residents up to date on the status of this possibility.

Supervisor Dick Colacino said he would like to secure some kind of grant money to help fund the proposed project to build the network into the town.

Several local businesses can expect to be contacted by a representative from Finger Lakes Technologies as it continues to explore the project’s potential success.